


Take Care of You (Always)

by crose84



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, F/M, Feelings, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Lucy's Hurt, Mostly Fluff, Tim Takes Care of Her, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, gentle angst, hopefully in character, mentions of trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29492220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crose84/pseuds/crose84
Summary: Lucy's injured on the job. How does Tim handle the situation? Companion piece to Happiness (Grab it Where You Can).ORLucy's injured on the job and Tim takes care of her.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 154





	Take Care of You (Always)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for your kind words and kudos on my first foray into this Fandom! It meant so much to me. This is in the same universe as my first fic, Happiness (Grab it Where You Can). There are some references to that work here, but I don't think you have to read both. I hope you enjoy this too! Feedback or kudos deeply appreciated.

“Jackson?” The name of her best friend came out more of a question than Lucy Chen had meant it to. She was vaguely aware of him holding her hand and of his face hovering above her, but the pain radiating from her leg was making everything hazy. “You okay?”

“Fine.” He squeezed her hand. “You took the brunt of it.” A fact he was sure Tim Bradford would make him pay for. Even if it hadn’t been his fault. “Set up the perimeter and flares. Backup, fire and the ambo are on the way.” He assured her.

“The driver?”

“Drunk.” Jackson ground the word out. “Not a scratch on her.” He cast angry eyes over his partner’s prone body to where the woman sat on the curb with her hands cuffed behind her back. If there was a chance she could figure out how to stand he supposed she could be a flight risk, but he was pretty sure the woman didn’t even know her name right now let alone have functioning motor planning processing skills. 

“My leg?” She closed her eyes and pressed her lips tightly together praying that the urge to vomit would pass. There was no way she’d be able to turn on her side without help, and she didn’t want to put Jackson through that.

“Broken,” badly by the looks of it. The sound of sirens screaming through the quiet afternoon pulled his attention from Lucy just briefly. “Here comes the cavalry. $20 says Tim’s in the first car.” He smiled at her. 

She tried to laugh. It was either that or cry and despite that she had lost track of the number of times Jackson had seen her do it, she really didn’t want to cry while she lay helpless on the pavement of an LA street. 

“West!” Lopez ran up to them, Tim beside her, “what happened? Where’s the ambo?” She and Tim had been sitting at their usual lunch table waiting for everyone else to show up when Jackson’s call had come over the radio. He’d sounded calm and in control, but the severity of the situation had still been clear and sent them rushing to the scene.

“On its way.” He answered tersely. He looked down at Lucy, and then over to the woman on the curb, before looking up at Lopez and Bradford. “We had just gotten out of the shop to talk to a guy with a broken tail light, just to give him a warning, when Ms. Danforth over there came out of nowhere driving recklessly and at a high speed. Clipped me, but Lucy got the worst of it.”

Tim looked over at the obviously drunk woman sitting on the curb without a scratch on her or a hint of worry and took a step towards her. “Don’t.” Angela’s command was quiet but forceful, and the touch on his forearm, while gentle, reinforced her one-word order. 

He dropped to his knees next to Lucy instead and took her hand in his. Jackson stood up and took a step back to give them the illusion of privacy. “Didn’t know I needed to teach you to look both ways, Boot.”

She turned her head a little at the sound of his voice. “Not funny. I’ve got a broken leg, and God knows what else.”

He touched her cheek, “good thing you’re tough.” He was reminding himself of the fact as much as he was reassuring her. 

“What do we got?” The ambo had rolled up and two paramedics had jumped out and were approaching them with a stretcher. 

Tim was vaguely aware of at least one more patrol car arriving. 

Jackson filled them in, and then they were quickly but carefully loading her onto the stretcher. “Tim.” She squeezed his hand harder as the paramedics started to tighten the protective straps around her body.

He was helpless to fight off the anguish that filled his body at the broken way she said his name. He knew what the straps had triggered in her. He touched her cheek again and didn’t miss the way she nuzzled into his palm. His gaze roamed around the area. “I need to stay and help clear the scene.” If he went with her the sector would be down two patrol cars. His voice was nothing more than a pained whisper. 

“Tim.” Angela’s voice was laced with just how much she disagreed with his decision. 

“Work is work.” It was the deal he and Lucy had made from the very beginning. 

“We gotta roll.” The paramedic in charge informed them impatiently. 

Tim shot him the glare that made most people shrink back silently. The paramedic returned the glare but took half a step back. “Jackson. Ride with her. You’ll need to be looked over too.”

“Of course.” Jackson stepped back to Lucy’s side.

“Don’t let them tighten the straps too tight. And distract her if she can’t see out the window of the rig. Oh, and make sure they give her the open CT or MRI machine.” He told Jackson quietly. He reluctantly dropped Lucy’s hand and stepped back as they loaded her into the back of the ambo. “Luce, I’ll be there as soon as this is cleared.”

“I know.” He was pretty sure he heard her say.

“You should have gone with her,” Angela told him as they watched the ambulance drive off. 

“Don’t.” He gave her a hard glare. Second-guessing was pointless. He was feeling shitty enough about staying behind as it was.

~~~

“Your pacing is making me nervous.” Jackson had been pacing the tiny area of her curtained ER cubicle since she had returned from getting her leg x-rayed and an MRI of her head and leg. “Just sit.”

“He kept it together at the scene, but Tim is going to murder me for getting you hit by a car.”

She tried to roll her eyes, thought maybe she had but whatever was in her IV made knowing for sure tough. “It was not your fault.”

“I know, but…”

The curtain opened and Dr. Grace Sawyer stepped in, “Lucy,” she said warmly, tugging the curtain closed behind her. “How are you feeling?”

Lucy held up the arm connected to the IV. “Whatever is in here is fantastic.”

Grace chuckled. “I have good news and bad news. Good news: your head CT is clear. Bad news: your leg is a mess. Not only is it broken, but your MRI showed ligament damage in your knee. I’ve scheduled you for surgery to reset the leg and repair the damage in your knee.”

“Surgery?” She looked between Grace and Jackson and wished not for the first time that Tim was here. She truly hadn’t expected to hear the word surgery and she tried not to show how much it was throwing her. She’d been sure they’d put her in a cast, give her some crutches, and send her on her way. “Okay, surgery, when? Now? How long is the recovery?”

“Tonight. Probably in a couple of hours the way the schedule is looking. The surgeon will go over the recovery with you, but you’re likely looking at least eight weeks for the broken bone. With the added ligament damage, it’s going to depend on what they find when they go in.” Grace explained.

Lucy sighed. “I see a lot of desk duty in my future.” She muttered glumly. 

“Please.” Jackson scoffed. “Tim’s going to keep you on bed rest for the duration of your recovery.”

Lucy scrubbed her hands over her face tiredly as all the pain and emotion from the day caught up to her. “Thanks, Grace.”

Grace patted Lucy’s good leg sympathetically, “sorry I didn’t have better news. Someone will be by to move you to a room shortly. Since we don’t know exactly when you’ll have surgery, I’m going to admit you for at least the night.”

Lucy just nodded. When Grace was gone, she turned to Jackson. “Can you do me a favor?” She didn’t wait for him to agree. “Can you go to the apartment and get my phone charger? And the book on my nightstand? And I guess toiletries and a pair of shorts for when I’m able to get out of here?”

“Yeah, of course.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Text me if you think of anything else.”

~~~

Tim sighed in anger and frustration as he lowered himself into a chair to rush through the remaining paperwork from the day. He grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Lucy. _“Are you okay? I swear, I’m leaving this Godforsaken station in the next half hour. I’m sorry.” ___

__I love you, he almost added, but he would not tell her that for the first time by text message. Some things still needed to be said in person. He should have gone with her. It’s what they both had needed, worry about reputations be damned._ _

__Her response came almost immediately. _“Whatever is in my IV is amazing. See you soon. Room 610.” _She’d added a heart and the blowing kisses emoji to the end.___ _

____“Bradford.” Tim had just refocused on the report in front of him when Sergeant Grey stopped at the desk. “What are you doing?”_ _ _ _

____“Finishing paperwork, Sir.”_ _ _ _

____“Look, I appreciate how you and Chen have kept your personal life out of this station.”_ _ _ _

____“Sir.” He wanted to cut off whatever but he sensed was coming next._ _ _ _

____“But you should be with her at the hospital,” Grey told him, “there’s nothing here that needs to be done tonight. Or even tomorrow morning._ _ _ _

____“I...Thank you, Sir.” He closed the lid on the laptop and escaped to the locker room before Grey could change his mind._ _ _ _

____~~~_ _ _ _

____She had just finished texting Tim and had dropped her phone onto her stomach when she heard the door cautiously creak open. “That was a very fast half hour.” She said grinning. “Oh, Emmet .” She trailed off in surprise at the sight of the man in front of her._ _ _ _

____He stood in the doorway, hands in his jacket pocket, rocking nervously on his feet. “Lucy.”_ _ _ _

____She had a moment of internal panic. Had she texted the wrong person? The pain meds in her IV were strong, but that strong? “How did...How did you know I was here?”_ _ _ _

____“Franklin told me. Said you were the victim on a scene he rolled up to this afternoon.” He reached up to scratch the back of his neck._ _ _ _

____“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say. Their relationship had fizzled out months ago, ending amicably with a whimper._ _ _ _

____“Can I?” He indicated the chair by her bed._ _ _ _

____“Uh, sure.”_ _ _ _

____He crossed the room and sat gingerly in the chair. Kept himself perched on the edge instead of settling in and making himself comfortable. “I just wanted to see if you were okay.” When he’d hear the news something in him had propelled him here to check in on her. See how she was._ _ _ _

____She indicated to her left leg, currently raised in traction. “I’ll be out of commission for a while, but I’ll heal.”_ _ _ _

____He nodded and looked around her otherwise empty room. “I sort of assumed Bradford would be here.” He wondered what, if anything, it meant that he wasn’t._ _ _ _

____“He’s on his way.” She glanced down at her phone trying to figure out how much longer it would be until he arrived. She needed to see him, be held by him. She knew she wouldn’t truly feel okay until she was._ _ _ _

____Emmet looked down at his hands. “I won’t stay then. I just...I wondered...Do you…” He probably should have figured out what he wanted to say to her before just showing up in her hospital room unannounced. Now he was just making things awkward._ _ _ _

____~~~  
“West! Why aren’t you with Lucy?”_ _ _ _

____Jackson froze in place as he waited for the elevator to finally reach the lobby at the undeniably angry voice of Tim Bradford behind him. Lucy would have called it his TO voice. He was sure that voice had made a lot of grown men flinch and brace themselves in the aftermath of this afternoon’s events. He held up the duffel bag when the other man stopped next to him. “She sent me out to pick her up some things.”_ _ _ _

____“She’s okay?” She’d seemed okay in her text messages, but he needed confirmation._ _ _ _

____“Her leg is more messed up than we thought. Grace seems confident she’ll heal well from the surgery though. She’ll be glad to see you.” He held out the duffel bag to Tim._ _ _ _

____“Surgery?” Tim froze._ _ _ _

____Jackson took a step backward. “She hasn’t had it yet. Just waiting on the surgeon, probably happening soon.” He took another step backward. “I’m just going to let you guys have some alone time. Tell Lucy I love her and I’ll check on her later.” He fought the urge to sprint to the exit just in case Tim tried to call him back._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____~~~_ _ _ _

____“Tim.” She breathed his name as soon as she saw him appear in her doorway. Emmet and whatever he’d been trying to say momentarily forgotten._ _ _ _

____Emmet’s attention immediately snapped from Lucy to Tim at the sound of the other man’s voice._ _ _ _

____“Am I interrupting something?” Finding Emmet at her bedside caused anger to bristle along his already shot nerve endings._ _ _ _

____Emmet looked between them and stood up. “I was just leaving. Glad to hear you’ll be okay, Lucy.”_ _ _ _

____“Thanks.” She waited until the door had closed behind him before reaching out her hand for Tim._ _ _ _

____He closed the distance between them in a couple of long strides, dropping the bag Jackson had handed him on the chair Emmet had just vacated. He took her outstretched hand and perched carefully next to her on the bed, needing to be close to her, but not wanting to jostle her. “What was that?”_ _ _ _

____“I have no idea.” Whatever it was, it had just been plain weird. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you.” She pulled him in for a long kiss. She marveled at the sense of comfort that immediately settled over her now that he was finally here._ _ _ _

____“I’m sorry, I should have been here with you from the beginning.” He’d been beating himself up since he’d stood by Angela and watched the ambulance pull away. He pressed another kiss to her lips._ _ _ _

____“Work is work.” She squeezed his hands. The deal had been important to both of them, and one of the first things they had agreed on. She could still hear Angela’s words from the bar a few months ago, _don’t be fucking gross about it. _____ _ _

______“Some things are more important.” He told her roughly. He ran his hand through her hair. She’d taken it out of the bun she wore on shift and it was loose around her shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me you needed surgery?” His stomach had dropped when he’d gotten the news from Jackson._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I wanted to tell you in person. I would have called if they came to take me before you got here.” She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek against his chest, squeezing him tightly. “What a day, huh?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Still not over.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Where is this surgeon? It’s not okay that you’re waiting, in pain, like this.” He would have gotten up to go track the person down himself but she made no move to let him leave her embrace._ _ _ _ _ _

______“At the moment, I’m not in so much pain.” She promised. “Just hold me for a minute.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“If I have to, Boot.” Like there was any chance he’d let her go._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh.” She pulled back just far enough to look into his eyes. “You should text Wes to see if he can feed and walk _your _dog tonight!”___ _ _ _ _ _

________He smirked and raised his eyebrows, “assuming I’m going to be here all night?” He chuckled when she punched him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ve made arrangements for _your _dog. He’ll be fine.”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Good.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There was a knock on the door, “Officer Chen, we’re ready to get you prepped for surgery.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He gave her a quick kiss, “I’ll be here when you get back.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________~~~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“This is unnecessary.” She told him as he opened the passenger door to his truck and reached for her. “I’m going to have to learn how to use the crutches.” He ignored her protest and carefully gathered her in his arms to carry her to the front door of his house. He set her down just long enough to unlock and open the door before picking her back up. “Couch or bed?” He asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Bed.” She heard Cujo start to whimper in his crate when he realized they were home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tim carefully settled her on the bed, propping pillows up behind her back so she could recline comfortably and propped even more pillows up under her injured leg so it could be elevated. “I’m going to get your crutches and your bag out of the truck, and then I’m going to walk the beast. You’ll be okay?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I will be okay for the 10 minutes that you are gone as long as you promise that when you get back you and the dog will come to snuggle me in this bed.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He kissed her forehead softly. “I think it can be arranged.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________~~~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Are you okay?” She asked him a while later after he and Cujo had returned, and kept their promise to snuggle her. Cujo was sound asleep against her good leg, acting as a warm, snoring barrier between her and Tim, his blocky head resting in her lap._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The afternoon sunshine coming through the curtains cast a cozy glow over the room that should have been peaceful and comforting. Would have been if not for the tension she could feel coming off Tim._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’m not the one recovering from surgery on a trashed leg, Boot.” He had the most recent edition of some sports magazine open in his lap. Not that he could tell you anything about any of the articles he’d read._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She marked the page in the book she’d been trying to read and turned her head to look at him fully. “My trashed leg is not your fault. It’s no one’s fault, but the woman who hit me.” She gave him a minute to acknowledge what she’d said, “what is bothering you?” She asked when he said nothing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I let you down.” Again. He’d let her down again. “You needed me to come to the hospital with you. I…” He couldn’t help but feeling like he’d somehow given himself a Tim Test and failed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Stop.” Her voice was forceful. “I’m not angry with you and I don’t feel abandoned. I knew that you had to stay and that you would come to me when you could. And, Tim, you made sure that I was taken care of. You sent Jackson with me and you made sure he knew how to navigate all of my triggers. You took care of me. You’re still taking care of me.” He’d insisted on bringing her here, to his house, instead of back to her apartment. Insisting that she’d be more comfortable. She hadn’t argued with him, knowing that he’d needed her close by as much as she needed him within arms reach._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Always.” He reached for her hand and lifted it to place a kiss to her palm._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Now do you want to talk about the other thing that’s bothering you?” She knew she was maybe pushing her luck. Sometimes he still needed to just sit with big things and brood over them a bit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What’s the other thing that’s bothering me?” He intertwined his fingers with hers needing the contact._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I saw the look on your face when you saw Emmet sitting at my bedside in the hospital. You were angry.” She hadn’t missed the anger, confusion, and hurt that had washed over his face in the split second before he’d shut it down._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I was caught off guard.” He clarified. It had been an unexpected shot on a day that had already been full of body blows. Literally, in her case. “You don’t really talk about that relationship.” And she talked about everything. At great length._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I tried once when it ended, and you said, _‘I don’t have time to sort out your personal life, Boot,’ and honestly there wasn’t much to talk about.” _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He remembered the moment she was referring to. They had been hiking with Cujo when she’d tried to broach the subject of her recent breakup. He hadn’t been sure he’d be able to handle a whole hike listening to her talk about maybe missing the other man or wondering if she should give it a second chance. Didn’t know how he’d handle giving her advice if she’d asked for it. So he’d shut it down and she’d never brought it up again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I’m not exactly so proud of that relationship if you can even call it that.” Her voice brought him back into the moment. “I liked Emmet, and he is a good guy, but I was never in it for the long haul. He wasn’t really either, I don’t think, but maybe he could have been over time. I never could have though.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Why?” He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She sighed and thought about how best to say everything. “A few reasons. I wasn’t ready for anything serious that soon after all that happened with Caleb. I think I used Emmet to prove something to myself, which wasn’t fair. Emmet never came right out and admitted it, but I know that my trauma was too much for him. There were a lot of nightmares and flashbacks.” It could not have been pleasant for him when she’d wake up screaming, in a cold sweat, asking for Tim._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He squeezed her hand. “You don’t seem to have as many nightmares and flashbacks these days?” She still had some he knew. There were still nights he woke to her crying out in her sleep or thrashing beside him. Nights when he sat up holding her until she settled or she would curl herself tightly against him, her cheek against his chest so she could match her breathing to his. He hated knowing that she still had them at all, even though he understood she might always have them. Would always carry that trauma with her. The fact that she had fewer nightmares in his arms? That knowledge laid him out. Wrecked him in the best possible way._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Not as many.” She agreed. “ They happen more at the apartment, I think. I still have some here. I just sleep better with you and the pup next to me.” The hand that wasn’t in Tim’s reached out to rub the dog’s velvety ears. “All the snoring makes it hard to focus on anything else.” She teased him, her eyes dancing with mischief._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“We’re offended and we do not snore.” He put his free hand over his heart in mock indignation and hurt._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“In all seriousness, I feel safer with you guys looking out for me. That has always been true. Always. That is ultimately why nothing would ever work out with Emmet or anyone else.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Lucy.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She leaned forward to kiss him. She sighed into their kiss, and he pulled her as close as he could with her injured leg and their dog still stubbornly sleeping between them. “I love you, Tim.” She whispered when they finally broke apart. “I know we haven’t said it or talked about it. You don’t have to say it back, it doesn’t change how I feel. I love you. And the dog, obviously._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Obviously.” He agreed. “And for the record, I love you too. And it is my mission in life to make sure that you are safe. And happy. And cared for.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She grinned at him. “Are you sure you’re not going to get tired of taking care of me during my months-long recovery?” It was a joke mostly, but she heard the thread of uncertainty in her voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I’ll just send you back to your apartment and Jackson if you get too whiny.” He pinched her arm playfully._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“You wouldn’t dare.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I wouldn’t dare,” he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder instead, pulling her against his chest so he could kiss the top of her head. “I just promised you I’d always take care of you, Luce. I love you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
